Infrastructure

Work Begins on Sh11.6bn Geothermal Plant in Nakuru

The Chinese-funded Orpower 22 power plant will take 17 months to complete.

Updated on

November 6, 2024

Orpower 22 Geothermal — Groundbreaking of the plant on 24 October 2024. (Photo: Courtesy)

Construction of a long-awaited 35-megawatt (MW) geothermal power plant has finally begun in Menengai, Nakuru County, advancing efforts to harness green energy in Kenya.

The Sh11.58 billion Chinese-funded clean energy project will be completed in 17 months.

During the groundbreaking ceremony, President William Ruto noted that the proposed plant signifies a commitment to achieving a 100 per cent green electricity grid by 2030.

“The completion of the 35-MW Orpower 22 Geothermal Power Plant will elevate Kenya’s global ranking to fifth place in geothermal energy production,” Dr Ruto said.

Kenya is the sixth-largest producer globally, using about 950 MW of its 10,000 MW potential, with geothermal contributing over 50 per cent of the national power mix.

The Shanghai-based Kaishan Group will undertake the project through a public-private partnership. Yan Tang, the general manager of the company, expressed confidence in expanding green energy projects in the country.

“Through all these projects, we are not only pursuing green and renewable energies such as green electricity, green hydrogen and green ammonia, but also creating jobs, resulting in more economic impact to local communities,” he said in a statement.

Kaishan Group is the company that built the 35-MW Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power Plant, which has been supplying electricity to the national grid since mid-last year.

In June, the UK’s Globeleq broke ground on another 35 MW geothermal plant in Menengai, set to feed the grid in 2025—pushing the area’s total power production capacity to 105 MW.

The three power plants have a modular design and can be expanded in the future.

The plants are part of an initiative by Geothermal Development Company (GDC) to unlock the potential of the Menengai fields, which GDC prepared for private investment.

In 2014, GDC competitively picked investors to develop the three power plants with a capacity of 35MW each. The plants were expected to be operational by December 2016.

This did not happen, as the selected companies faced challenges accessing financing to advance the project, and it is only recently that they have managed to reach financial close.